Fake Craigslist sex ad leads strangers to couple's front door

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The trouble for Hayley and Anthony began the Friday after Thanksgiving 2016.

"I got a Facebook notification from this individual that made a fake Facebook profile and he started sending me threatening messages, telling us that we've messed with the wrong person, telling us that he has started sending random guys to the house and knocking on your door."

Fortunately the couple was out of town. But back home in Houston, at least 20 men stopped by their house -- men showing up to see Hayley.

The couple says those men were responding to a Craigslist ad that included provocative pictures of other women, not Hayley.

"All races, sizes shapes welcome. Show up knock on the door and you will be let in," the ad reads.

"It was to insinuate that was me and to come over, have sex and definitely word it differently than what I'm saying right now," Hayley said.

So who was behind this cruel and dangerous prank?

Pasadena police launched an investigation and were led up the road to Santa Fe, Texas, to see Darrell Gibson.

Gibson has been convicted of harassment. Now Hayley and Anthony are suing Gibson, who they say they've never even heard of.

To this day, Hayley says, "We still don't know the motive of why he did it all."

The courts are seeing more and more of these cyberbullying cases turn criminal, and those hiding behind fake posts and fake accounts are not only being exposed, but having to face some serious consequences.

"We're going to help people like Anthony and Hayley have a voice in the community and a voice in the courts. We're going to expose this type of behavior in a way that people like Mr. Gibson are going to think twice about engaging in this type of behavior," attorney Clayton D. Craighead said.